Barrington High School dance canceled after gun rumors

Chicago Tribune illustration

Chicago Tribune illustration

Staff report

Barrington High School District 220 has canceled a dance scheduled for this evening following rumors about someone planning to bring a gun to the event, the district's superintendent said in an email to parents today.

Barrington High School had planned to hold a dance spoofing the supposed prediction of the Mayan Calendar that the world will end Dec. 21. But this morning, word spread among students that someone might bring a gun to the dance, according to an email from District Superintendent Tom Leonard.

School officials and police had not been able to confirm whether the rumor is credible, but in light of Friday's mass killing in Connecticut, officials decided to cancel the event, Leonard said in the email.

By about 4:30 p.m., there had been no arrests in connection with what had been circulating among students, and police were investigating whether any actual threat occurred or was credible, Barrington Police Chief Jerry Libit said in an email.

"Every threat, no matter how flippant, is regarded seriously – including severe consequences for those involved. This no joking matter," Leonard said.

"We won't risk student safety or the possibility a copycat assailant could try to inflict violence at one of our own schools," Leonard said in the email. "Some will say we are overreacting, but we have no reservations about being exceedingly cautious given the current atmosphere and our ongoing focus on protecting students."

Although threats in 2008 against the Barrington High School prom resulted in tightened security and not that dance's cancellation, Leonard said that the information about possible threats came several days before the prom, and authorities were better able to set tighter security and investigate the threats in advance of the prom.